They Did It!

Hannah and Tyler, the infamous lovers, finally got to kiss on Friday last week. That means, they got married. We sure are excited. It was a lovely celebration, and God was glorified. I am so happy for my sister and new brother. I hope you enjoy these pictures from my dad.

Such a sweet couple. 

Tyler and his twin, Travis, at the rehearsal. 

Yay! Well, not quite yet. 

So handsome!

We had a lot of fun. 

The beautiful bride. 

The groom and his men. 

There were lots of hugs. 

We had to do our "most ridiculous laugh." I thought that was pretty funny. 

The bouquets were so lovely. 

Bethany and Hannah

Hannah and me

Lydia and Hannah

Anna and Hannah

Susanna and Hannah. They have been friends since birth. 

I'm not sure Zach approves of this. 

Shall I tell you all our names? There are a lot of us! OK, from the left: Zach, Josh, Henrick, Mitchel, Ben, Travis, Tyler and Hannah, Priscilla, Elisabeth, Susanna, Bethany, Anna, and Lydia. 

My handsome brother Josiah. Sadly, my sister-in-law and niece couldn't make it this time. 

 

Sisters for life

Justus and Priscilla and Tyler and Hannah. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed that. 

I am thankful God brought Tyler into Hannah's life, and, therefore, into my life. 

Saying Goodbye

It's so hard to say goodbye to people you love, people you lived with for 9 months, people you teased, prayed with, laughed with, sang with, and made so many great memories with. But the time has come, and goodbyes are being made by all of us.

This morning Alaina, my roommate (and almost twin), left for her new home. I don't know when I'll see her next. I'll miss her greatly.

Last night Hannah and Priscilla both graduated from Bethlehem College along with many other people I know and love. The whole night had such a joyous sadness about it. Like a dark morning, the light of joy was shining, but the dark of sadness was creeping in. I looked about the room at the crowds of people afterwards, and knew I would be leaving them all so soon. Lydia tagged along with me as I watched people or spoke with them. Good old friends that I've only know for a short while.

It's sad to leave, but God takes us where He will. I will follow, even if that means leaving special people.

So many hugs, so many heart tears, so much love I have been shown here. I wish all of you, my MN friends, could read this and know how much I love you, how much you have blessed me, encouraged me, helped me, pointed me to God, and made me smile countless times. You may never know, but I hope somehow you do.

So, in a week I'll be packing up and driving back to NC to other friends and family that I love, and life will move on. I suppose life is made of saying goodbye.

Goodbye, I love you!

Thanks to Priscilla for taking this picture of me with some of the people I love. 

Elisabeth

His Vessels

"But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to the molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

Romans 9:20

I think Instagram is made for jealousy. I see so many beautiful pictures of beautiful people in beautiful places, and sometimes I wish. I wish I was a mommy with beautiful children playing outside in beautiful settings or cooking delicious food. I wish I wasn't here where I am, where God put me. I see lovely young ladies covered in beautiful freckles, glorious long curly hair, majestic mountains, dazzling sunsets, farmers, unsingle women (haha! Have you heard of such a thing?), weddings, and the list goes on. Sometimes I feel a little jealous. 

Not my picture (obviously).

Then I start to think a little more realistically. Are only a few freckles worse than lots of freckles, is less curly hair worse than more curly hair, are big hips not as good as no hips (Hey! At least I'll be able to give birth better than them!), is living in the city while God wants me to not as good as living in the mountains when He doesn't want me to? So many questions, and I begin to realize that I am mostly questioning God. As if He made a mistake when He created me, I wish I looked different, lived somewhere different, had something different. 

My picture (obviously, because it's not Instagram perfect, and nor is it supposed to be).

Yet, God made me in His image, He created me for His glory, and He gave me life through the death and resurrection of His Son. I have no complaints. How can I say, "Why have You made me thus?" He made me perfectly how He wanted. There were no mistakes in what He made, no mistakes in where He placed me, no mistakes in my status right now. He does all things well (Mark 7:37). 

I may not be the prettiest person in the world (let's just be honest, I'm not), but that's OK because "favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain" (Proverbs 31:30). God is perfect in wisdom, and to question His wonders is as if to say we could do better. 

Priscilla took this picture, and I love it because it shows so many kinds of vessels all beautifully made in God's image.

So I am learning to love God's way, His will, His wonders. 

Once again, a picture from Priscilla. She has a good camera and knows how to capture good shots. Of all the photography enthusiasts in our school, she's my favorite. 

I am going to turn the tables now and present to you one of those particularly beautiful vessels: the one who bore me, the one I call Mom. Sunday was Mother's Day, and I wasn't able to be home for my dear mother, but I did get to talk to her on the phone. She is a beautiful lady, full of the love of God. Through the years, she has become my friend, not just my mama. I love you, Mom, thanks for all you do. 

Dad took this picture of us together the morning we left home to go to Minnesota. I was grumpy. We kind of look similar, but she is clearly the more lovely of the two. Oh, I'm supposed to stop comparing myself. 

Loving His Design, 

Your Friend,

Elsabeth

The End

So, freshman year came to a close.

Finals are next week, though there were some already.

I finished on Tuesday, and, boy! I'm glad to be done.

I'm done. I made it. OK, maybe not because I withdrew most of my classes after spring break, but I did go through a whole 9 months of college. What an adventure, what a bumpy road. What a joy this year has been.

Serious Joy.

Still not sure sure if I get that entirely, but if I look back over the past couple semesters I do see both: the serious and the joyful.

Last night Jacob, a sophomore, asked a few of us freshmen what we learned at BCS. I said trusting God. Even in the most confusing, dark nights of college, God showed Himself strong in my weakness. One of the most encouraging passages especially this semester has been 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Verse 10: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

This year really flew by.

Thank You, Father, for Your good will in my life.

Jumping

Recently, an analogy of my life became clear to me. 

I was walking and thinking about all the branches I could jump up and try to reach, but then thought about how I usually don't reach them anyway. That's when it hit me: I love to jump up in an attempt to touch something. That may be branches, ceilings, signs, etc. However, many times I have jumped and then fell back down, thanks to gravity, having missed the goal by several feet. Sometimes I am pretty sure I won't make it, but I want to try anyway. 

It hit me that my life is often the same way. I'll see something that I think I might want to do, or maybe I know I don't want to, but I try. I jump and often land back on my feet or even crumple to ground, but I tried.

I tried college. Even before I went, I knew it seemed crazy, but I still jumped. And I'm glad I did because I wouldn't have gotten to see the view and feel the thrill of flying for a split second. I came tumbling back down, having missed the goal by several feet. 

But I jumped anyway. 

Photo credits to Dad

On another note, let me introduce Fotografia to you. He's my new crush. 

Beaver's nah on trees. 

It is my new blog, dedicated to photography in black and white. 

Adios, mi amigos.

Dumnezeu sa te binecuvanteze.

Of Houses, Railroads, and Bridges

I went to an island to take pictures of the beautiful old houses and other fun things to see.

The train tracks

I loved all the old picket fences.

Aren't they lovely?

This one had a beautiful yard--well, I guess they all did. 

I love the Victorian style. 

Of course, you have to have an old car in the yard too. 

One of my favorites. 

The colors!

The side...

And the front

Cutely snuggled in the trees.

The railroad bridge.

Underneath another bridge. 

On top of the last bridge.

Yoya. 

Well, that was fun.